Use of English Tips Steliana Stanciu

CAE Use of English Part 1

1. Read the text quickly to understand the topic, style and tone of the piece. 2. Now read again and try to guess what word might fill the gap without looking at the proposed answers. 3. Pay close attention to the words before and after the gaps, they will determine what words can and cant be used. 4. Now look at the answer choices. Select any answers that you guessed and then read the sentences carefully, before and after the gaps, to help you make your choice. 5. Do not spend too long on this part, it is very confusing and more time usually doesnt help you get more correct answers.

CAE Use of English Part 2

1. Read over the entire text once quickly. Take note of the topic, the style and the opinion of the writer. 2. Now read it again more carefully, filling in the gaps and paying close attention to the words before and after them. 3. If you dont know what the missing word is, read the whole sentence again carefully and identify what function it has: is it a pronoun? an auxiliary verb? part of a phrasal or prepositional verb? part of an expression? Analyse the sentence to find out what is missing.

CAE Use of English Part 3

1. Quickly read the entire text to notice the topic, style, tone and attitude of the writer. 2. You must understand the context of the sentences because there is usually at least one word that must be made negative.

Use of English Tips Steliana Stanciu

3. After you have changed the word, read the sentence again to check that it makes sense and the grammar is correct (does the word have to be plural?).

CAE Use of English Part 4

1. Part 4 requires a bit of creativity. Sometimes it may help to work on this part for 5 minutes, then do a different part, and then come back to Part 4 with hopefully a fresh perspective. 2. Read the three sentences forming the question and identify what part of speech the word is, it will be the same part of speech in all three. 3. Write the words that come to mind when you read each sentence. Try to think of as many ways as you can to fill each gap. 4. Look for similarities among the words you chose for each sentence. Sometimes a word will work for two sentences but not for three, this is why you must read and try and complete all three sentences. 5. If you dont find the answer right away, do a different exercise and come back. Sometimes a little time is all you need to find it.

CAE Use of English Part 5

1. This is the most difficult part of the Use of English paper. Make sure you allow at least 15 minutes to complete it. Take your time, be methodical, analytical and careful. 2. The questions are each worth two points, you get one point for using the key word correctly and another for identifying the remaining grammar or vocabulary needed to complete the sentence. 3. Read the two sentences and compare them. Underline everything in the first sentence that is given in the second sentence, this will show you the part of the sentence to be transformed.

Use of English Tips Steliana Stanciu

4. Look at the key word and identify the role it will play in the transformation. The other part of your answer is usually part of a phrase or expression that is a way of restating the information you identified as needing to be transformed. 5. Use the parts of the second sentence before and after the gap to help you remember the words you need. 6. You can get one point for half of the correct answer, so always write something on the answer sheet!